WordPress Hosting Requirements — Official Specs and Recommendations
WordPress requires PHP 8.0+, MySQL 8.0+, and HTTPS. For good performance, you also need at least 2GB RAM, NVMe storage, and a caching layer. Shared hosting from BD 3.5 meets these for most sites.
WordPress requires PHP 8.0+, MySQL 8.0+, and HTTPS. For good performance, you also need at least 2GB RAM, NVMe storage, and a caching layer. Shared hosting from BD 3.5 meets these for most sites. The biggest performance factor is the web server — LiteSpeed serves WordPress 2-5x faster than Apache because of server-level caching.
Official WordPress requirements
WordPress publishes minimum system requirements that are surprisingly modest. Here is what the official documentation states:
| Component | Minimum requirement | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| PHP | 7.0+ | 8.0 or higher |
| MySQL | 5.6+ | 8.0 or higher |
| MariaDB | 10.1+ | 10.6 or higher |
| Web server | Apache or Nginx | LiteSpeed with LSCache |
| HTTPS | Required | Required |
| Memory (RAM) | 256 MB | 512 MB+ per site |
The official minimums will run WordPress, but performance will be poor on any real-world site. A single plugin updating its database can exhaust 256 MB instantly. Treat the minimums as a theory and the recommendations as your actual baseline.
Real-world recommendations
Based on running hundreds of WordPress sites, here are the actual specifications that produce fast, reliable performance:
| Component | Good (brochure site) | Better (e-commerce) | Best (high traffic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP | 8.0 | 8.1 | 8.2-8.3 |
| Memory per site | 2 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB+ |
| Storage | NVMe 10 GB | NVMe 25 GB | NVMe 50 GB+ |
| Caching | LiteSpeed Cache | LiteSpeed + Object Cache | LiteSpeed + Redis + CDN |
| Backups | Daily automated | Daily + real-time | Real-time + offsite |
A brochure site with 5-10 pages and basic plugins runs perfectly on BD 3.5 shared hosting. An e-commerce site needs the additional resources of a BD 8.5 private shared plan. For a high-traffic WooCommerce store, a VPS at BD 11.5 or above is the right choice.
PHP versions compared
PHP versions make a significant difference to WordPress performance. Here is how they compare:
| PHP version | WordPress compatibility | Performance vs 7.4 | Security support |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.4 | Compatible | Baseline | End of life |
| 8.0 | Fully compatible | ~20% faster | Active (ends 2026) |
| 8.1 | Fully compatible | ~25% faster | Active |
| 8.2 | Fully compatible | ~30% faster | Active |
| 8.3 | Fully compatible | ~30% faster | Active (latest) |
If your host still offers PHP 7.4, it is time to move. PHP 7.4 is end of life and receives no security patches. Most shared hosting providers including BahrainServer support PHP 8.0 through 8.3 and let you switch between them in cPanel.
MySQL vs MariaDB
WordPress works with both MySQL and MariaDB. MariaDB is a drop-in replacement that is often faster because of additional query optimisations. Either is fine for WordPress, but here are the differences:
- MySQL 8.0 — The official WordPress recommendation. Widely supported with good documentation.
- MariaDB 10.6+ — Faster query execution in many benchmarks. Used by most modern hosting providers including BahrainServer.
- MySQL 5.x or MariaDB 10.1 — Old and unsupported. If your host runs these, upgrade or switch hosts.
For the vast majority of WordPress sites, the database engine choice makes little practical difference. The bigger factor is whether the database server is on the same machine as the web server (it should be) and whether query caching is enabled.
Why hosting matters for WordPress
WordPress hosting requirements are more than just PHP and MySQL versions. The hosting environment itself determines how fast and reliable your site will be:
- Storage speed. NVMe SSDs are 10-20x faster than HDDs and 3-5x faster than SATA SSDs. WordPress loads dozens of small files per page request; fast storage makes a huge difference.
- PHP worker configuration. Your host should use PHP-FPM with enough worker processes. Too few workers and visitors wait in a queue during traffic spikes.
- Server-level caching. Without caching every page request hits PHP and MySQL. LiteSpeed's LSCache serves cached pages in milliseconds without executing PHP at all.
- Account density. Good hosts limit accounts per server. Bad hosts oversell aggressively. If your neighbour gets traffic, your site slows down.
For a detailed walkthrough of hosting types, read shared hosting vs VPS and best hosting for WordPress.
LiteSpeed vs Apache
The web server is one of the most important WordPress hosting requirements, yet it is rarely discussed. Here is how LiteSpeed and Apache compare for WordPress:
| Factor | LiteSpeed | Apache |
|---|---|---|
| Page load time | 0.3-0.6s (cached) | 1-3s (cached) |
| Built-in caching | LSCache — full page cache at server level | No built-in caching — needs external mod_cache |
| WordPress plugin | LiteSpeed Cache plugin (all-in-one) | Multiple plugins needed (W3 Total Cache, etc.) |
| Concurrent connections | Handles more with less CPU | Uses more CPU per connection |
| .htaccess support | Full support | Full support (native) |
LiteSpeed is the most impactful single upgrade for WordPress hosting requirements. If your hosting provider offers it, choose LiteSpeed over Apache. All BahrainServer plans use LiteSpeed with LSCache included.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. WordPress officially runs on shared hosting as long as the server meets the minimum requirements of PHP 8.0+ and MySQL 8.0+. Well-configured shared hosting from BD 3.5 handles most small to medium WordPress sites without issues.
WordPress 6 requires PHP 7.0+ at minimum, but the official recommendation is PHP 8.0 or higher. PHP 8.x runs 20-30% faster than PHP 7.4 because of JIT compilation and other performance improvements.
Bare minimum, but not recommended. 1GB RAM works for a low-traffic brochure site with 5-10 plugins. For any site with e-commerce, high traffic or more than a handful of plugins, 2GB+ is the practical minimum.
No. WordPress works perfectly on shared IP addresses. A dedicated IP is only required if you need a private SSL certificate or a unique IP for email reputation. Most sites do not need one.
LiteSpeed serves WordPress pages 2-5x faster than Apache in most benchmarks. It also includes built-in caching (LSCache) that works specifically with WordPress, eliminating the need for separate caching plugins.